Kenya celebrated 58 years of internal self-rule/ Madaraka yesterday with President Uhuru Kenyatta taking a trip to the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu County for the #MadarakainKisumu event. The main focus in the president’s message was economic acceleration for the benefit of all Kenyans but most Kenyans were dissatisfied with it.
Burundi’s President, Évariste Ndayishimiye, was the guest of Honour at the celebrations with South African Minister for Human Settlement, Lindwe Sisulu, gracing the occasion too.
President Kenyatta cited ‘four frames’ of the country’s liberation struggle that have informed his administration pointing out that political freedom in the absence of economic freedom is nothing but an illusion.
“Given that the founding fathers stood for economic inclusion and the administration before mine was about economic recovery; my administration has embraced the maxim of economic acceleration,” he President said.
The president boasted that his administration had accelerated the attainment of the country’s development goals at National, county and individual levels. A declaration most Kenyans do not agree with.
The President said he was making effort to improve the lives of Kenyans through investments in critical infrastructure projects, which he termed “the Big Push Investments” as the foundation of economic take-off.
Some of the ‘big push investments’ that he noted were: construction of Lamu Port, revival of 566 Kilometres of the Metre Gauge Railway, rehabilitation of the Port of Kisumu and the reconditioning of the MV Uhuru vessel.
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Uhuru Kenyatta pointed out that political stability was a key matter in his service as it is necessary to secure what was achieved in 58 years. This was said to throw a wet blanket on the matter of politics in Kenya being ‘the heat and light of Kenya’s national existence’.
Kenyans took to twitter to address the message conveyed by the president with a lot of commentary being in criticism on how the country has been run in the last 8 years of his leadership. Many were unsatisfied.
A Kenyan commented, “8 years down the line and you have impoverished most Kenyans, but you cant see it. Corruption at it’s most rampant, Covid management a disaster. What economic acceleration can you create in 1 year?”
Another user added. “Can someone tell Mr president to stop threatening & intimidating our judiciary. Kenya belongs to all of us.”
Others pointed out that the Mr. Uhuru had ‘stolen time’ to address Kenyans against on the BBI (Building Bridges Initiative) mission instead of other matters that are affecting Kenyans directly.
Source: Government Portal, President’s speech